How to Complain Effectively
Thursday, September 20, 2007 6:10 PM
If you're upset over a late bus, or a rude driver, you need to learn what information we need to track your concern and resolve the issue.
There are two ways to lodge a complaint: via the Internet or by phone. If you're on-line, go to our Web site, http://www.ridemetro.org/ and click on "comments and complaints."
If you call, dial this phone number: 713-658-0180.
Once you call or write, please provide us with the following information:
1. The route number. This is the route on the scrolling sign in front of the bus. For example, #1 Hospital; or #131 Memorial.
2. The four-digit bus number. This number is located on the inside of the bus on the windshield above the driver and on the outside of the bus on the right rear.
Depending on the type of bus, this bus number may also appear on the side of the bus and the left front of the bus, when facing the bus. The four-digit bus number is always in black.
"This four-digit number is very helpful in researching," said Kimberly Wells, manager of METRO's customer information center. "That number plays a critical role in our getting information. It tells us who is driving the bus, what route the bus is on."
3. A brief description of what happened.
4. A contact phone number for you. "We may need to talk to you to get more details of what happened," explained Wells. 
5. The location or intersection of where the incident occurred. Sometimes the route is very long, and drivers may relieve each other at a layover. This will help us tell who was driving the bus.
6. Time of the incident. Even if you're angry, don't forget to glance at your watch and note the time.
7. Direction the bus is traveling. Is it going east or west? In-bound or out-bound?
"A lot of times customers are so caught up being angry that they miss all that critical information. They don't know where it happened. They usually have the route but not the bus number," said Wells.
We try to respond to complaints within seven days. Once we log in a complaint, it is routed to the appropriate department for investigation and response.
If you want to know how we resolved it, you must ask for a call back. If you don't, we'll work on the issue, but you won't hear from us again. We get 100 complaints a day, and about 40 of them do not have sufficient information to track down the problem and resolve it.